Boardmasters Festival is an annual event held in Cornwall, United Kingdom, usually spanning five days on the second weekend of August. The event is a combination of live music and surfing/skateboarding competitions in and around the town of Newquay. The festival was founded in 1981 as a surfing competition, and in 2005 it was expanded to include music acts, taking place at Watergate Bay. In 2024 the official capacity of the event was increased to 58,000. The majority of the music performances take place to the north of Newquay near Watergate Bay. The Men's Pro 5 Star WQS surf competition takes place on Fistral Beach where a skate ramp is built for the BMX and Skateboard competitions. Other sporting events include The Women's Open, WSL Men's Longboard, WSL Women's Longboard, Boys/Girls Pro Junior and Under 12's. It is also known to feature a well-being program, a tea-room, and a fairground. The event is owned and managed by Vision Nine Group. In 2017 the Boardmasters Foundation was started to support local causes, such as the RNLI, with c. £436,000 raised up to 2023.

Music festival

The Watergate Bay site hosts the music arena and all festival camping. The festival runs from Wednesday to Monday, with music performances running from Friday to Sunday across ten stages: The Main Stage, Unleashed, The Point, The Land Of Saints, Corona Sunsets, The View, The Netloft, The Dockyard, Keg & Pasty and the VIP Bar/Stage. Past years have seen performers such as Bastille, Faithless, Chase & Status, Snoop Dogg, The Chemical Brothers, Stormzy, Ed Sheeran, Deadmau5, George Ezra, Two Door Cinema Club, Calvin Harris, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Years and Years, Dizzee Rascal and Craig David.

List of music headliners

Cancellations

In 2014, the organisers of the festival were forced to cancel the final day at the Watergate Bay site due to the remnants of Hurricane Bertha. Artists due to perform were Bastille, George Ezra, Reel Big Fish, DJ EZ, 2manydjs and Catfish and the Bottlemen. However, the surf competition at Fistral Beach continued as normal and full refunds for the cancelled day were received by customers. The 2019 event was also cancelled hours before it was due to take place, after serious concerns of bad weather forecast to disrupt the event. Boardmasters was then cancelled for a second year in a row in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Award nominations

Boardmasters was nominated for ‘Best Medium Sized Festival’ at the 2014 UK Festival Awards, alongside Secret Garden Party, Camp Bestival, and winners We Are FSTVL. In 2023 it was nominated again for the UK Festival Awards, this time in the ‘Best Large Festival’ category.

Surf and skate

At Fistral Beach the surf, BMX and skate competitions take place along with more music during the evenings. A small mini-ramp is set up on the headland and the vert ramp is built in the beach car park. A purpose-built beach bar hosts more musical acts and evening beach sessions. The festival has received local criticism due to its greater focus on the music performances, rather than the "extreme sports" side that the event was originally known for.

Professional surf competition winners